Fans of the popular mobile game Flappy Bird, developed by GEARS Studios, are unhappy that the developer pulled the plug on the game and an avid player has petitioned President Barack Obama to help bring back the game to the iOS and Android app stores.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, Vietnam-based developer of the game Nguyen Dong revealed that he would be taking down Flappy Bird for good from the Google Play and App Store.
"I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore," tweeted Ngyuen on Saturday, February 8. The game was taken down on Sunday, Feb. 9.
I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
Flappy Bird, introduced in May 2013, had fast become a mobile game phenomenon and had been raking in $50,000 per day. However, Nguyen faced severe criticism for the addictive mobile app with gamers, with bloggers and critics lambasting Flappy Bird as its popularity grew. Users were unforgiving and accused Nguyen of deploying bots to ensure higher ratings. Some even called the game "ripped-off art."
On Tuesday, February 11, in an interview with Forbes, Nguyen revealed why he had removed the game despite its popularity and millions of users.
"Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," the creator said to Forbes. "But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever."
Such is the popularity of Flappy Bird that Nguyen received several death threats and suicide tweets after he decided to yank off the game from the mobile platforms. A woman tweeted an image with a gun in her mouth saying "If you delete Flappy Bird, I'll kill myself."
On Thursday, February 13, a petition to revive Flappy Bird was posted in the White House petition page by an individual who identified himself as D.S.
The petition is as follows:
"Flappy Bird, also known as the devil's game and apocalypse, suffered an untimely death. The game has been described as causing suicidal thoughts and has caused the destruction of millions of mobile devices. People have lost their wives, children, homes and jobs.
So why bring back Flappy Bird, you ask?
Because it is an addiction like no other. I am fortunate enough to still be playing Satan's game. Every time I lose, my eyes burn like a thousand suns, but I'm happy that I can feel such tremendous emotion. I want everyone to be able to experience such emotional magnitude.
Bring the power back to the people. Let them choose whether they want to spend every waking moment trying to get through those tubes of horror with this mangled and deformed bird.
No copycat can match this game."
The petition requires 100,000 signatures by March for the U.S. president to take an action on it, but so far it has managed to generate only 11. For a petition to become publicly searchable on WhiteHouse.gov, it has to garner at least 150 signatures. If the petition expects to get a response from the White House it would need 100,000 signatures.
However, considering that the game developer is based in Hanoi, Vietnam, even if the petition manages to notch up the number, it is doubtful that a decree from the White House would sway Nguyen.
